The people of Pakistan have reposed their faith in Nawaz Sharif and his PML(N) party. As Pakistan faces an uphill battle against Taliban terror, a large number of radicalised and unemployed youth in a stuttering economy, is he the man for the job? What will be his equation with the Pakistan army which has forced him off power in the past. What will it mean for the future of Indo-pakistani ties? Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi, Defence and political analyst, Pakistan, joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue.
Q. Good afternoon sir, my heartiest congratulation to all Pakistani people for marching ahead on path of democracy.Sir,the mandate given by people seems a bit fractured i.e parties scoring high in their bastion and falling to perform over all,if we see PML-N performed very well in Punjab region,PTI did same in Khyber region,so does this mark a regionalism in Pak politics where the aspiration of a particular province will take the front seat devoiding other a chance and all though Nawaz Sharif is echoing thoughts that he wants good relation with India,but it was under his regime Pakistan tested nuke. Asked by: Jst Ashish
A. To some extent there is a regionalisation of politics in Pakistan. As different parties are emerging in different provinces. However, most of them are not in a position of forming the government on their own they will have to seek each other's cooperation within a province and across provinces. Further, if elections are held on a regular basis regionalism will be punctuated with interdependence.
Q. Will Nawaz Sharif will able to control the army and keep the army under his control. Asked by: Jwahar
A. The control over the military depends on the overall performance of the political system. Initially Nawaz Sharif will have to work with the military in a shared decision making system. If the political leaders are able to evolve a credible civilian alternative, civilian primacy can improve over time.
Q. Is the expectations of Pakistan people to high from PML-N Nawaz Sharif? Asked by: Vimal
A. The expectations of the people appear to be high. They want the new government to solve all their socio-economic problems but the new government will face problems in improving economy and cutting back on electricity shortages. The PML(N) leadership made wild promises during the elections. All of these promises will not materialize.
Q. Don't you thing we are going overbored with Pakistan as we have failed to learn that Army calls the shot in Pakistan? Asked by: Jayesh
A. If both India and Pakistan adopt a realistic attitude towards each other and keep humanism in view, things can improve. Pakistan has a shared decision making system involving the military and civilian leadership. It is oversimplification that the army controls everything.
Q. What step you think is required fro the newly elected PML-N government in Pakistan to curb the Islamist terror.. Asked by: Rohit
A. The new Pakistan government can curb terrorism over a period of time because some of these groups have developed strong societal roots. The current terrorism can be tracked back to the 1980s when the western world and conservative Arab countries have joined hands with the military government of Pakistan to train and launch Afghan-Islamic resistance against the Soviet troops in Afghanistan. The training was done mainly in Pakistan's tribal areas and some parts of mainland Pakistan. Therefore, this threat can be tackled slowly. The government of Pak will have to work towards improving its economy to create economic opportunities for the people and pay more attention to improving law and order by pursuing these and other groups. You need to remember that the terrorist groups constitute greater threat to Pakistan than to Indian. Check how many Pakistanis have been killed over the last ten years.
Q. Can Nawaz Sharif pull Pakistan out of the abyss of Islamist terror? Asked by: Zaheer
A. Pakistan need a long term socio-economic policies to control on extremist groups that resort to terrorism. It is going to be a long drawn struggle with a heavy human and material cost for Pakistan. Terrorism has become the major internal threat to Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif can make a good beginning but it will take a longer time than his government to really normalize the situation in Pakistan.
Q. What will be Nawaz equation with the Pakistan army which has forced him off power in the past. Asked by: fatima
A. The civil-military equation in Pakistan is regular mutual interaction on key security and defence affairs between the two. There is a regular consultative process. This pattern is likely to continue. The military has given more space to civilians over the last five years than ever. However, it still maintains strong role in policy making on key issues but neither the military nor civilian leaders make unilateral decisions.
Q. Congratulations to People of Pakistan for voting inspite of threats from radical groups. Appreciate the spirit of the people. Will Nawaz Sharif this time be more aggressive with Military than last time and give a stable democratic rule for Pak? Asked by: Kiran_KK
A. Only good performance by the civilian government and democratic continuity can ensure civilian primacy. This will come over time. If tensions between India and Pakistan go down and they pursue relatively peaceful relations this will help the civilian leadership and improve the prospects of democracy in Pakistan.
Q. What will it mean for the future of Indo-pakistani ties? Asked by: Farhan
A. Nawaz Sharif favors improvement of relations with India. He is especially in favor of improved trade ties. However, we should not be oblivious of difficulties in India-Pakistan relations with historical baggage. Therefore, a slow process of improvement of relations will serve the goal. Human interaction across border and the media connection should be encouraged. The media should not play up hostility towards each other.
Q. What should be the priority of Mr Nawaz shariff.. Asked by: Rakka
A. The NS government priorities should be: economy, electricity generation, controlling terrorism, and good relations with neighbours.
Q. I suppose both the countries haven't taken up the terrorism issue very seriously. Either its been delayed justice or no justice at all. So what move of India and Pakistan could lead to avoid terror situations? Asked by: Shobana
A. Terrorism is a major challenge to both countries. Pakistan has suffered more from terrorism than India; not all terrorism in Pakistan is done by those groups that once enjoyed the blessings of Pakistan's security agencies. Terrorism is used by India and Pakistan to blame each other. If India and Pakistan cooperate the situation can improve. THe terrorism situation is not so simple in Pakistan, as it is understood in India. There is a need to understand what has happened to Pakistan and its people because of the developments since 1980s involving Afghanistan and Kashmir, only then some solution of terrorism my be achievable.
Q. Will Nawaz Sharif succeed in increase people to people contact with India... which in current situation can help him take care of army and terrorism? Asked by: Ravindra Bhattar
A. The NS government will be in favour of people-to-people contacts between the two countries. However, India has suspended new travel facilities between the two countries in January this year. If new visa facilities agreed to earlier between the two countries are implemented, the situation will improve. So far as terrorism is concerned , it will be tackled over time. If India's precondition pre-condition for good relations is total elimination of terrorism the goal of good relations will not materialize in near future.
Q. What does people expect the most from Mr.Sharif? Better Economic Growth, Better Relations with India OR Curb Terrorist Attacks? Asked by: Rajiv Soni. Mumbai
A. The people of Pakistan expect all three issues to be addressed. The improvement of the economy is the first priority. There is a lot of support at the common person level for improvement of relations with India with the exception of hard line Islamic groups. They are in a minority but they are vocal and some of them are armed.
Q. Dr Rizvi, PML N's not forming a government in the KPK and allowing the PTI to do does raise an eyebrow or two, since the KPK has been subjected to the worst forms of terrorism. Your take on their staying clear of the snake pit? Asked by: Mansoor
A. The PML(N) is still trying that the PTI does not establish a coalition government in KP. THe PTI has a pro-Taliban outlook and the PMLN has a sympathetic disposition towards the Pakistan Taliban. If the PMLN get an opportunity it will form a coalition government in KP but Imran Khan stands a better chance.
Q. Interestingly, the issue of Kashmir was completely out of the agenda of the political parties in the elections. How do you think Mr. Nawaz Sharif is going to bring this "core issue" of Pakistan back on the table? Will he be able to go for some Give-and-Take on the issue of Kashmir, provided he has secured an stupendous win? Asked by: Ishank Sagar
A. Kashmir and India were missing from the election campaign. The NS government will talk about Kashmir to keep the record straight but it will not the whole gamut of India-Pakistan relations on Kashmir. If the relations between India and Pakistan improve from the current stalemated situation, the Pak government may be willing to explore other options for Kashmir like the dialogue on Kashmir in 2004-2007.
Q. Nawaz sharif is from Lahore and already there are no terrorist attacks there but in sindh and Baluchistan.so how he will act to get it right that there are no more attacks in these areas? Asked by: Nikhil Sakhare
A. The new government will have to work with the provincial government to upgrade security arrangements in the provinces to control terrorism. However, the terrorist groups are so deep rooted that the government will take time to make the situation manageable. In Karachi in addition to terrorism, there is ethnic violence, criminal activity, and land grabber groups and extortionists, showing that the government lacks capacity or will to deal with them.
Q. What control can the Civilian Government have on the Army in Pakistan given that the Army enjoys undoubted dependency due to incursions and internal conflicts in Pakistan? How can the Civilian Government control the army when the army is playing the key role in stabalising the conflicts in Pakistan and anything which would downgrade the morale of the army will be taken with a pinch of salt? Under these conditions how can the Civilian government can even take the command over ISI or the religious radicals working against India? Does this mean a huge difference between the speech and execution? Asked by: Kumar
A. This lengthy question requires a detailed answer which is not possible here. The military does not control each and everything in Pakistan. The civilian space has increased in Pakistan over time but still there is a long way to go.
Q. The way PPP has been decimated in the elections. Even its two former Prime minister have lost their elections. What role do you think Mr Zardari will play, being a marginal player in the Pakistan's politics? How will Nawaz Sharif react to the court's order regarding opening up of pending cases against Mr Zardari? Asked by: Ishank Sagar
A. Zardari's presidency is coming to end in September. He will manage the PPP. There are no pending money laundering cases against him.
Q. Sir, There is no doubt that the PM has job cut for him? He should look at three areas separating religion and politics, address the issues of militant outfits, here army can be used to advantage, focus on development, development and development...and behave like a good neighbour. Asked by: S ESHWAR
A. The top consideration would be for the economy and controlling terrorism. Other issues will follow them.
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